Former Babson Graduate School Dean returns to campus in new role as Chief Academic Officer

WELLESLEY, Mass., Oct. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Babson College, the top ranked college for the study of entrepreneurship, has named renowned innovation and entrepreneurship specialist Mark P. Rice Provost and Professor of Entrepreneurship.

Babson's former Graduate School Dean returns to the College after serving for seven years at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a variety of roles, including Professor, School of Business Dean, and Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

"Mark is an exceptional leader and we are so pleased that he will help guide Babson into its second century as our chief academic officer," said Babson President Kerry Healey. "He is a highly-respected and longtime member of our community who will support Babson's mission to educate entrepreneurial leaders who create great economic and social value—everywhere."

"I look forward to supporting our commitment to advancing Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® by providing members of the Babson community with the mindset, the skillset and the knowledge base needed to solve complex problems, see endless opportunities, take positive action, and improve the human condition," said Rice.

As Babson Graduate School Dean and Professor of Entrepreneurship from 2001 to 2010, Rice was recognized for a number of accomplishments, including guiding the development and launch of Babson's Blended Learning MBA Program and overseeing the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Babson's MBA Program.

About Mark Rice
Rice is an honored specialist in innovation and entrepreneurship.

He received his Ph.D. in Management – writing his doctoral dissertation on business incubation, which later became the well-received book, Growing New Ventures, Creating New Jobs: Principles and Practices of Successful Business Incubation – from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He also received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from RPI.

Rice served as director of RPI's Incubator Program, which was recognized by the National Business Incubation Association as Randall Whaley Incubator of the Year. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), the world's leading organization advancing business incubation.

He then became Director of the RPI Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship, where he helped develop the RPI entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year Celebration, the Venture Affiliates of RPI, the EntrePrep Program and the Rensselaer Entrepreneurship Interns Program. He also served as Principal Investigator for the Rensselaer Radical Innovation Research Project.

Rice then moved to Babson in 2001 where, in addition to his Deanship responsibilities, he taught seminars and workshops for entrepreneurship educators in Asia, Latin America, and North America. He was among the Babson faculty that served as editors of Entrepreneurship: The Engine of Growth (Praeger Publishers, 2007).

Rice has served in a variety of roles for AACSB, including Chair of the Pre-Accreditation Committee; Vice Chair of the Strategic Directions Committee; Chair of the Accreditation Quality Committee; Member of the Blue Ribbon Committee on Accreditation Quality; and Co-Chair of the AACSB 2020 Committee. He has been a frequent speaker at AACSB Conferences.

About Babson College
Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

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